Matthew Bryan-Amaning helps Huskies claw past ASU

Matthew Bryan-Amaning scored 30 points to help the Huskies past Arizona State on Saturday. (Joshua Trujillo/Seattlepi.com)

Lorenzo Romar had a flight to catch.

So the Washington basketball coach was forced to cut his postgame interview session short, shuffle hastily out of the media room and make his way toward the airport.

“The Bahamas,” Romar joked on his way out, asked where he was headed, presumably a recruiting trip.

The atmosphere of that tropical locale would be a welcome upgrade over the teeth-clenching it took for Washington to beat Arizona State 88-75 at Hec Edmundson Pavilion on Saturday, the lowly Sun Devils sticking around for much longer than anyone anticipated.

“Never fun to play against Arizona State,” said Romar, whose quick escape mimicked the way UW was able to pull away from the Sun Devils.

A career-best, 30-point effort by UW forward Matthew Bryan-Amaning was the main thing separating the first-place Huskies (15-4, 7-1 Pac-10) from ASU (9-10, 1-6), which shot 50 percent from the field.

Separation. Washington found it just once, when it mattered, a 14-4 run over the final 2:40 eventually relieving the uneasiness that had settled in early at Hec Ed.

“The way they play, they kind of want to keep it a close game,” Bryan-Amaning said.

It helped that Bryan-Amaning often found himself working against one-on-one coverage, the result of ASU’s aggressive matchup zone defense extending itself to defend against UW’s bevy of 3-point shooters.

And it didn’t help the Sun Devils that their tallest starter was 6-foot-7 Kyle Cain, who failed, along with the 7-foot-2 Jordan Bachysnki, to deny Bryan-Amaning from weaseling his way in between the seams left in ASU’s zone.

“I just think if I can do a good job of creating space and getting up and over, especially when this guy is like 6-7, 6-8, I think with my arm length I can get over him and be able to shoot my shot without anybody bothering it,” Bryan-Amaning said.

The senior forward finished mostly within two to four feet of the rim, the Sun Devils helpless to stop him once the Huskies figured out a way to throw him entry passes.

But not one the Huskies could exploit well enough to cruise to the blowout everyone expected. Which might not be such a bad thing.

“We’ve been in a lot of close games this year, especially on the road, and we haven’t done too well,” Thomas said. “So these close games really, really help us for later in the season when we’re on the road and we’ve got them close games we’ve got to win.”

Momentum never stayed with either team for longer than a possession or two. Even when the Huskies responded to a game-tying 3-pointer by Kuksiks with back-to-back jumpers to take a five-point lead, the Sun Devils came right back, Abbott draining a 3-pointer from the corner to cut the UW lead back to 68-66 with 5:17 remaining.

Every UW mini-run was seemingly answered by an ASU 3-pointer, either from Ty Abbott, who had four of them, or Rihards Kuksiks, who provided ASU’s final bit of resistance by draining a 3-pointer with 2:41 left that cut Washington’s lead to 74-71.

The likeliest UW culprits made sure it didn’t get any closer. Bryan-Amaning and guard Isaiah Thomas – who quietly scored 19 points, handed out eight assists and grabbed six boards – scored on consecutive possessions to put UW ahead 78-71 with 1:44 to play, the too-close-for-comfort battle finally decided.

Scott Suggs made it a done deal by nailing a corner 3-pointer with 1:11 remaining.

But not after the Sun Devils made 9 of their 14 3-point attempts, a total that may have been even higher had the Huskies not assigned Thomas to guard Abbott in the second half.

“Try to take him off the 3-point line and limit his touches a little bit,” Thomas said.

It worked. Abbott shot just 2-of-6 from the field in the second half, finishing with 20 points after scoring 13 in the first half.

“I don’t think we win the game tonight if he doesn’t guard Abbott in the second half,” Romar said.

“(Thomas) should be on the All Defensive team. He has played that good of defense for us.”

Washington (15-4, 7-1 Pac-10) seemed sluggish in the first half, perhaps signs of a hangover following its big win over No. 25 Arizona on Thursday. The Huskies led 40-39 at halftime, despite giving up frequent open looks to Abbott and Trent Lockett, who also scored 20 points.

That’d certainly be enough to leave most opposing coaches desiring a vacation. But instead of the Bahamas, Romar and Co.’s next road venture will instead be to Pullman, where the Huskies close out the first half of the conference season with a game against Washington State next Sunday.